


Falling head over tailfin

by aroseandapen



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Fan Characters, M/M, Romance, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:20:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25592683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aroseandapen/pseuds/aroseandapen
Summary: Kurochi finds himself entranced by a human who comes to the docks daily. And against his better judgement, he might find himself feeling the impossible for that soft quiet boy, who’ll never even know his face. At least, in the best case scenario he wouldn’t.
Relationships: OC/OC
Kudos: 1





	Falling head over tailfin

The boy came to the docks every day, or close enough to it, at around the same time. He’d arrive with another, older boy. They’d say a few words to each other–or rather the other would speak to him–then the older one would leave, and the boy would settle down with something in his lap, drawing on it.

After catching snatches of their conversation from hiding in the shadows underneath the dock, Kurochi learned that his name was Jaden, and that the older boy was his brother. Jaden didn’t speak however, so Kurochi never learned his brother’s name. Which didn’t matter much, he supposed, as he didn’t plan on ever speaking to either of the humans.

It just felt nice to put a name to the soft face that had stolen his heart.

* * *

Sometimes Jaden would dangle his feet into the water, his shoes and socks set off in a neat pile to his side. The sun illuminated his legs, and glinted off the water as he idly swung them. Kurochi dove beneath the surface, to lay on the sandy bottom beneath the dockside, looking up at Jaden’s thoughtful face through the barrier of water separating them.

He held a hand up above him spreading his fingers. They were webbed, unlike Jaden’s slender fingers, and tipped with claws that were perfect for gutting fish. Not at all suited for gentle work, like holding a pen, or stroking a cheek, or running through hair while directing that warm smile in his direction.

Kurochi’s cheeks warmed suddenly, and suddenly the water around him felt bitingly cold. He withdrew his hand and held it to his chest. His heart raced beneath his touch, pounding and aching for a soft touch. Jaden’s touch.

It hurt. Kurochi squeezed his eyes shut, blocking Jaden out of his field of vision. He couldn’t _have_ that. Like the barrier of water that separated them above, there was too much between them. A human who walked the surface and sometimes visited the docks, a mermaid who belonged to the ocean. And the former didn’t even know of his existence.

He left the sandy bed and swam off, but the image of Jaden gazing serenely out across the water lingered in his heart.

* * *

The way the water swirled around his legs with each pass hypnotized Kurochi. Jaden kicked his feet in the water in a rhythmic motion that lulled him, drumming his fingers against the dock. Music from a boat on the other side of the area drifted out over the water to him, sinking Kurochi further into his peaceful mood.

He allowed himself to bob in the tiny waves that lapped against the wooden beams supporting the dock. His eyes slid closed, and he enjoyed the unfamiliar song, the tapping of Jaden’s fingers, and the gentle swirl of water as Jaden kicked his feet in it.

The song faded out into silence, but he barely noticed. His peaceful feelings endured, and part of him just enjoyed the secret closeness he had to Jaden, although it was nothing that he could ever act on.

Then suddenly, everything stilled. Kurochi’s eyes blinked open, and then an icy cold dread dropped his heart straight into his stomach.

He’d drifted out from under the dock. Jaden had stopped everything, the device in his hand forgotten, and was staring straight down at Kurochi.

His heart stopped. Everything in his body screamed at him to flee, to duck down and hide beneath the water’s surface, but he couldn’t move. His muscles were tense, frozen, useless. All he could do was stare with wide eyes up at Jaden, whose own eyes fixed on his with the same amount of shock that Kurochi felt.

Slowly, Jaden raised a hand, and gave a tentative wave. It broke the paralysis that locked Kurochi’s body in place.

He twisted his body and dove. His tail fin beat madly at the water, splashing and propelling him away. Kurochi swam faster than he ever had before, until his tail burned with exertion and a hard cramp forced him to come to a stop.

He’d put a lot of distance between them, he knew as he pressed a hand to his racing heart. Not all of it was from the panic-induced race away he just had. Kurochi sunk to the bottom, startling a little fish hiding among some rocks. He slumped, hanging his head under the wave of misery that washed over him.

He’d messed it up. There was no way he’d ever be able to go back there, now that Jaden had seen him. The human would tell others, and then they’d come. Some might even try and capture him, doing whatever it was that humans did to mermaids when they managed to catch them.

All he knew was that once he was torn from the ocean, he’d never be seen again. He couldn’t risk that, not ever. He could never see Jaden again.

Not even for the searing pain in his heart as it shattered at the loss of what he never had to begin with.

* * *

Once the ocean had felt like home. A cradle, an embrace, holding him and keeping him safe. Now he felt the chill on his skin like never before. It bit at him, slipping under his scales and making his body shudder, as if his shivering could outdo the full force of the ocean.

On top of that, his heart ached though not from cold. It’d been a few days since he’d last seen Jaden, since he’d messed everything up and had to flee. There’d been a warmth there that was gone now, leaving a great yawning hole in his chest where it felt that Jaden was supposed to be.

Kurochi closed his eyes, shutting out his surroundings. Stupid, he shouldn’t even be thinking about that. No matter what, Jaden was a human, and nothing could’ve ever come from it anyway. Best case scenario, he would just spend his days pining after a human while he drew at the docks, until one day Jaden never came back. Most likely case now, there’d be people at the docks waiting for him to foolishly return, and he’d be trapped in a net the moment he dared.

His already shaky resolve lasted until the very next day.

He told himself that he’d stay low. Jaden wouldn’t even have a chance to peek at him, assuming he still went to the docks every day. As he went, he swam slowly, gliding along the ocean floor. His eyes darted around him, checking for any nets that might be hanging around.

He reached the spot without any incident. Everything seemed quiet, with no extra noise that might warn him of unusual human activity. Kurochi rose slowly, glancing up to the surface.

As always, Jaden sat in his spot at the edge. His feet were dipped into the water, but they didn’t kick as he normally did. Kurochi swallowed, his heart swelling at the sight. He’d missed him more than he realized. His chest ached, with the oh-so-familiar need to be just a little closer.

Well, he’d already ruined his cover before, hadn’t he?

Against his better judgement, Kurochi swam up until his head broke the surface. The sun warmed the waters at this point, and soothed away some of the persistent chill he’d felt since swimming away last time he’d come.

Jaden lifted his face. His eyes flew in his direction, and Kurochi tensed in preparation to dart away again. After a few seconds, however, Jaden went back to drawing on the device in his lap, and Kurochi forced himself to relax.

For a while, neither of them did anything. Jaden’s legs began to swing in the water in that rhythm that Kurochi felt in his own heart by then. They didn’t try to greet each other or to make conversation. In fact, Jaden barely acknowledged him. Maybe that was why Kurochi’s fear began to fade away and he allowed himself to drift closer to him.

When he did, Jaden smiled without moving his gaze from the device. Kurochi’s heart did a little flip at the sight and he ducked his face down into the water to hide the blush tinging his cheeks.

“Hey, Jaden! Ready to go?”

Both of them jolted at the older boy’s voice. For one breathtaking second, their eyes met, and then Jaden turned to look in the direction the voice had come from. Kurochi took that as his cue to dive underwater.

This time when he swam away, his heart was buzzing with excitement, and the water didn’t feel as bitingly cold as before.

* * *

He shouldn’t, and yet he went back the next day. And the day after that. Whenever Jaden was at the docks, Kurochi would show up as well. Jaden didn’t acknowledge him much, other than a glance and a nod before he turned his attention to the device he always carried. Once, Kurochi waved at him when he surfaced, and Jaden smiled softly in response.

By that point, Kurochi had gotten so close that he could reach out and touch Jaden’s legs as they swung in the water. Jaden didn’t attempt to breach the small amount of distance between them, and allowed Kurochi to get as close as he felt comfortable with. It reassured his constant fears that any moment now the peace that hung over them would fall and shatter, that Jaden might only be lulling him into a false sense of security to do something horrible to him.

That never happened, however, and Kurochi was beginning to feel a little silly for feeling that way. Guilty, even. Jaden only wanted to make sure he didn’t get spooked away again.

Kurochi cleared his throat then, and Jaden jumped at the sound.

“Are you drawing something?” It’d been a long time since he’d last spoken, and his voice sounded hoarse.

Jaden stared down at him, wide-eyed. He supposed that he couldn’t blame him; he probably thought that Kurochi couldn’t speak at all. It took almost an entire minute for Jaden to regain his composure, and he finally answered with a nod.

“What are you drawing?”

He turned the device around to show him. The docks, with such skill that it was surreal just how realistic it looked. It looked as if he could be staring through a window straight out over the water from Jaden’s point of view. The only thing different was the image of dolphins playing in the distance–Kurochi hadn’t seen dolphins any of the times he’d been there with him.

“Wow.” His awe brought his voice down to a whisper.

Jaden beamed and set the device down in his lap. He moved his hands, but it was in such a pointed way that Kurochi could only think that Jaden was communicating something to him. Yet he could only guess what any of the movements meant, a puzzled frown coming to his face. The look of confusion disappointed Jaden. His shoulders slumped, but not for long. He took up the device and drew on it again.

When he turned it to Kurochi this time, the scene he’d drawn was gone, with a blank canvas in its place save for the words, “My name is Jaden, what’s yours?” written on it.

He couldn’t bear to mention that he’d already known his name for a long time. Instead he responded with a shy, “Kurochi”, before sinking into the water.

“Kurochi?” Jaden had written it out, spelled the way he would expect his name to look. When he nodded, Jaden wrote to him, “That’s a pretty name.”

Kurochi averted his eyes, embarrassed. “It’s… fine,” he said, shrugging it off. “It’s nice to actually meet you.”

Jaden nodded in agreement, and Kurochi hoped that he hadn’t made a horrible mistake in speaking to this human.

“Would you mind if I drew you?” was the message written for him when Kurochi managed to meet his gaze again.

“Huh?” Kurochi flushed at the unexpectedness of the question. “Why would you want to draw me?”

“Because you’re amazing! I’ve never seen anything like you, and you’re so beautiful I just have to draw you!” he’d written, and the entire time he held the device up for Kurochi to read, his eyes shone behind his glasses with such an enraptured gleam that Kurochi didn’t have the heart to refuse him.

“I-it’s fine, but…” His face heated up. “… _beautiful_? You really think… so…?”

Jaden’s shoulders hitched, as if surprised by his own words that he’d used to describe him. He looked away sharply, biting his lower lip. There was the faintest bit of pink dusted over his cheeks as he nodded quickly. Kurochi had to hide his face for a moment before he could continue.

“Y-yeah. You can draw me if you… if you really want to.”


End file.
